TalkingBoxing Articles
Dawson Shuts Tarver’s Mouth and Enters Discussion of Top Fighters
SUN October 12, ANDRES ANTONIO CARRIEDO - With less than a minute to go in the ninth round of his 175 lb. title match against Antonio Tarver, Chad Dawson was retreating and allowing Tarver back into a fight that Dawson had thoroughly dominated up to that point. It was the second time in a span of four rounds that Dawson had gone into a defensive shell, a strategy that made little to no sense. Following a dominant eighth round from Dawson, Tarver’s trainer Jimmy Williams implored his charge to let his hands go and began telling Tarver that he’d need to knock Dawson out in order to win the fight. Dawson was clearly on the verge of sealing a much sought after and satisfying win over his nemesis. For whatever reason, though, he seemed to be giving rounds away.
Just at the moment that it seemed Tarver was about to win the ninth round and begin to inch back into the fight, Dawson came alive. He drove the veteran Floridian back with a lightening quick eight punch flurry; then followed that up with a left uppercut-left cross combo that landed flush. When Tarver began to cover up Dawson ripped a series of left and right hooks to Tarver’s midsection. The upstart from Connecticut sealed the round with two more uppercuts to Tarver’s head and body. That series told the tale of the big 175 lb. title fight at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas, NV on Saturday night. Tarver tried his best and didn’t take too much punishment, but Dawson controlled the pace and action while winning virtually every round. After the ninth round was over, Showtime cut to a quick between rounds interview with retired former pound for pound kingpin, Floyd Mayweather Jr. who made the statement that he believes Chad Dawson to be the best pound for pound fighter in the world and that Dawson does not get the credit he deserves.
Regardless of the criteria for determining pound for pound supremacy, few are likely to agree with Mayweather in terms of putting Dawson in the top spot, but Mayweather is absolutely correct in pointing out that Dawson does not get the credit he deserves, which I’ll discuss in depth later. Dawson ultimately did seal the deal against Tarver. He unloaded his entire arsenal in the 10th and 11th rounds and even dropped the game former linear champion with a sneaky right hook behind the ear about a minute into the 12th round. Tarver came back strong as a fatigued Dawson did not have the ability to finish him off. But Dawson earned the lopsided 118-109, 117-110 (twice) decision that was awarded in his favor.
Now, let’s get back to Dawson’s pound for pound standing. He’s not mentioned in the top 20 of espn.com’s Dan Rafael’s pound for pound list. Boxrec.com had him outside the top 15 before last night’s performance and The Ring Magazine does not have him in their top 10. Yet, Mayweather believes he’s the top dog. Some, including Tarver, have made the claim that Dawson has not fought anybody. Yet an in depth look at his resume suggests otherwise.
Dawson turned pro in August 2001 on a card co-headlined by fights featuring Emmanuel Lucero and Kermit Cintron at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Dawson’s home state of Connecticut. For nearly the next four and a half years Dawson plied his trade through various weight classes against progressively better levels of competition. Most, but not all, of the fights were in the Connecticut casinos. Dawson beat Dewey Welliver before Welliver was entirely shot. He beat Carl Daniels two years after Daniels took his beating from Bernard Hopkins. Dawson even scored a very impressive KO win over respected fringe contender Ian Gardner, who holds wins over Tokunbo Olajide, Deandre Latimore and Muhammad Said, and followed that up with a lopsided decision win over respected world class trial horse Jason Naugler.
At that point, Dawson moved up even further in weight. Please keep in mind that Dawson began his career as a middleweight prospect, fighting as low as 158 lbs. against “Slick” Willie Lee in March 2003. So, when he fought former title challenger, Eric Harding, a legitimate world class 175 lb. fighter, in June 2006, Dawson was not only taking a step up in class, he was simultaneously taking a step up in weight. Aside from a first round flash knockdown, Dawson dominated the fight. Eight months later, Dawson suffered a 12th round knockdown in an otherwise dominant performance in which he lifted the WBC 175 lb. title from Tomasz Adamek. At that point, Dawson began to gain a reputation of being chinny.
Dawson took some vicious blows from former 175 lb. champion Glen Johnson (the same blows that knocked Roy Jones unconscious), but Dawson could not shake the image of being a breakable, untested young gun. In some ways, Dawson’s career path mirrors that of linear 160 lb. champion Kelly Pavlik. The only difference is that Pavlik gets the credit that he deserves for gradually working his way up and earning his title the hard way. And perhaps that is what Mayweather was talking about when he called HBO “racist” this past summer.
Perhaps that is part of the reason why Mayweather considers Dawson the top pound for pound fighter in the world. He’s definitely one of the most under-rated fighters in the game and for whatever reason HBO doesn’t seem the least bit interested in taking up his cause the way they have with other fighters (e.g. Antonio Margarito). It should be noted that Dawson is a Showtime product; having been raised on a steady diet of ShoBox appearances and later Showtime Championship Boxing co-feature and headline appearances.
But HBO could have picked up any Dawson fight they wanted to. HBO has had Harding, Johnson and Tarver on their network in the past. Fights between that trio and Dawson would have been well received by HBO’s audience and would have paid Dawson more handsomely than the same fights did on Showtime’s airwaves. HBO claims to want to bring in a changing of the guard, but for whatever reason, they never made a commitment to Dawson.
While I do not agree with Pretty Boy Floyd that the network is racist and I don’t think that Dawson is the top pound for pound fighter, Mayweather does touch on an interesting point. Dawson is a talented young fighter who has proven himself against the best in a very tough division. HBO jumped at the opportunity to exploit that in the case of Kelly Pavlik, but they’ve not done so with Chad Dawson. Pavlik deserves the accolades that he’s gotten, but wouldn’t it behoove HBO to help develop a legitimate young adversary for Pavlik like Chad Dawson?
Consider, for example, the scenario in which Pavlik scores a dominant win over Hopkins. Pavlik, who is already firmly entrenched within the top 10 of all mainstream pound for pound lists, will rise even higher. If the win is impressive enough, I may even consider Pavlik the top fighter. After all, I have Joe Calzaghe in my top spot and he struggled mightily with Hopkins. But when considering Dawson’s prospects against a fighter like Pavlik against the backdrop of what he has done over the last two years against Harding, Adamek, Johnson and now Tarver, it’s hard to say what might happen.
Dawson and Pavlik are roughly the same size. Both are well schooled, technically sound fighters. Pavlik has better power and Dawson is quicker. It’s a classic matchup. Add to that the fact that they’re both 26 years old and entering the peak of their careers. They both sport unblemished records even after having tested themselves against grizzled veterans. One is from the heartland, the other is from the Atlantic Northeast. I could go on and on.
Dawson-Pavlik/Pavlik-Dawson can be the next great Light Heavyweight matchup. If it happens next fall it may even feature serious implications for pound for pound supremacy. If HBO does not want to jump on that I know Showtime/CBS will. Maybe even Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s seemingly far reaching comments of October 11, 2008 will look prophetic in hindsight. A Dawson-Pavlik/Pavlik-Dawson fight could become a huge event. It could launch renewed interest in boxing in this country because it will feature American fighters in one of the sports’ glamour divisions. It would have serious implications on the top pound for pound rankings and it may even be possible to get it done off of PPV. Let’s just hope the powers that be don’t mess this up.
Forum
